Experiences that were worse than you imagined

[Lakai]

You ever look at a homeless person and think, "oh I would love to have no responsibilities," only to become homeless in the future and realize that it sucks worse that you imagined it would?

Maybe you never experienced homelessness, but what else did you go through that you never realized just how horrible it was until you experienced it yourself?

[Rodgers01]

This is a trivial example, but twice I've slept in camps in essentially the open air, on a board, with no blanket, no sleeping bag, no pillow...just whatever clothing I had on. Both times I thought "Eh, I'm tired, it's not cold out, I can sleep anywhere..."

Nope. Both times, it was miserable, cold, and I barely slept and was miserable the next day. I need at least a blanket, dammit.

[Soliloquy]

Being pepper sprayed. I did it for work. I'm not a complete hooligan.

Worst. Thing. Evar. So far.

[Rachellelogram]

Being consensually facefucked. I'm glad I can put it on the list of things I've done, but at the same time it's on the list of things I will never voluntarily do again. I used to fantasize about it a lot but not any more.

[campp]

Had a blood vessel inside my nose cauterized. More pain that I could comprehend, I nearly shredded the padding from the arms of the chair.

[panache45]

An appendectomy. Routine surgery. But not when the appendix has ruptured, and the ER mis-diagnoses it and sends the patient home. My entire body had become septic, and I came damn close to dying. Then, after barely surviving the surgery, I had a drain tube sticking out of my abdomen for two years. Even now, 37 years later, the incision sometimes hurts.

[salinqmind]

I had a mysterious growth removed from my nose - a tiny red zit that never went away. I went to a dermatologist who decided to remove it and test it for cancer. I went to his office and sat down in like a dentist chair, looking out the glass wall during a ferocious thunderstorm (that part was cool!). He snipped it out, but it was bleeding ferociously. I mean splashing on the ground. He tilted the chair so I was practically upside down and he pinched the incision with a rag, with all his might. That went on for almost 15 minutes, and it hurt like hell. There's still a little hole on the tip of my nose that never filled in, like he said it would.

My daughter had to have four teeth extracted before they put braces on her. We went to have this done (the oral surgeon's was right next door to the above mentioned dermatologist's office, oddly). They put her under with gas and took out the teeth. When she came to, her mouth stuffed with bloody rags, she took a swing at me (!), and then vomited. We were there for 2-1/2 hours, and she puked every 10 minutes. They gave her some ginger ale to sip and it kept coming up. She puked at least 20 times, and finally, at noon, I said, 'come on, let's go home'. She threw up twice in the car (into a grocery bag, but there wasn't much in her poor stomach) and three more times at home before, thankfully, the nausea went away. Jeez. Louise.

[Ferret Herder]

I had an exploratory laparoscopy in my pelvic region, and didn't think the recovery would be that big of a deal. I mean, a few tiny incisions that can be covered with a Bandaid each, that's not so bad. Except that these incisions go through muscle too, and I thought when I sneezed that I was going to lose some internal organs.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Lakai

You ever look at a homeless person and think, "oh I would love to have no responsibilities,"

Never. Not even once.

I didn't expect that the test for whooping cough would be as unpleasant as it was. When I felt that nasal probe coming out the back of my head, I was pretty sure I wasn't having a good time.

[jsgoddess]

Being widowed. It was the worst experience of my life, by far. I expected it to be bad, but not that bad.

[sandra_nz]

I thought I'd be fine to have an early morning session of root canal work, then head straight to work for the rest of the day. I was wrong.

[Leaffan]

Marriage. It's not nearly as enjoyable as I once thought.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

Except that these incisions go through muscle too, and I thought when I sneezed that I was going to lose some internal organs.

I had that experience too. I told my project manager that I'd be out for the day having surgery and that I'd be back in the next day. I ended up spending the week on my couch, damning my surgeon to the fiery pits of hell.

[jjimm]

Having my heart broken.

I thought I knew what it meant. You read enough about it, hear enough songs about it. I thought it had already happened to me. Now I know I'd felt sad about breakups before, maybe even mildly depressed - but this was a drop in the ocean of misery that I experienced when it happened properly. It fucked up every aspect of my life, for a very long time. I don't think it's right to compare it to bereavement, as I've never been seriously bereaved, but I'm guessing it comes close. Fucking hell it was awful.

[Dung Beetle]

Nearly every clothes-shopping expedition I’ve ever been on.

[Mr. Excellent]

Originally Posted by tdn

Never. Not even once.

I didn't expect that the test for whooping cough would be as unpleasant as it was. When I felt that nasal probe coming out the back of my head, I was pretty sure I wasn't having a good time.

Wait, what? When I had whooping cough, they didn't do this.

[lalenin]

Emigration. I knew it would be hard work, but the total disorientation of not speaking the language, not knowing anyone, and just being cut off from anything and anyone I had ever known was unimaginably difficult.

[Yarster]

I'll go with getting attacked by a dog as my primary one. In this case, it was a large German Shepard type guard dog that had gotten out of someone's yard and attacked my corgi. Not fearing dogs, I jumped on the German Shepard and tried to pry his jaws open, then started punching it, at which point my hands and lower arms were bitten. Amazingly no bones were broken and the dog did not have rabies. The owner felt really bad and paid for all the bills both at the emergency room and the vet hospital for my dog, which they gave 50/50 odds as to whether she'd survive. Luckily she did.

Prior to the attack, I used to watch shows like 'Cops' where the 250 pound guy would get taken down by the 70 pound German Shepard and I always thought that didn't make sense given the weight advantage the guy had on the dog. I always assumed most people were just afraid of large dogs and they submitted for fear the dog might grab their throat. Boy was I wrong. I got my ass absolutely kicked by that German Shepard and I'm a reasonably strong guy. I couldn't imagine how strong and fast the dog was, and in retrospect sitting in the emergency room, I kind of freaked out knowing that if that dog had gone for my throat or other vital area, I would have been dead and there would have been nothing I could have done about it. It still freaks me out even today.

Another one was the effect of being unemployed and the feeling of depression. I was laid off from a dot com many years ago and thought I would have no trouble getting another job. It took many months and the fear of not knowing whether I'd ever get an interview, dealing with rude HR departments, and the fear of eating into my savings took a bigger mental toll on my than I ever would have imagined. Thankfully I have a job, but in this economy, I always have some nagging anxiety.

[Sevastopol]

Law school, until I switched to another.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Mr. Excellent

Wait, what? When I had whooping cough, they didn't do this.

They didn't? I was led to believe that it was standard procedure.

The doc took this long plastic probe and stuffed it up one of my nostrils. Just when I thought he couldn't fit any more of it in, he'd go farther. I'd be that he put a good six inches up there. And while it didn't really hurt, it was amazingly uncomfortable. And then my nasal passage was raw and sore for a few days.

And I was feeling better long before I got my test results back.

[Balthisar]

Driving on the Autobahn while I was stationed in Germany. From Hanau to Heidelburg is a heavily trafficked area, and there was no ability to live out my "drive as fast as I want" fantasies. Aside from the traffic, a HMMWV, 2-1/2 ton truck, Dodge van, CUCV, or VW Transporter can really only ever go so fast. (Actually, I took the Dodge van from Hanau to Grafenwöhr once, and it really, really could move. I'm not sure how fast, as the speedo has the typical maximum 85 mph markings that were common at the time.)

[NinetyWt]

Barium enema. I had an emergency appendectomy and this was how they did the imaging. Having my gut stuffed full of liquid until it couldn't hold anymore was the worst experience of my life. I'll take childbirth or getting the shit knocked out of me over it anyday.

[Dung Beetle]

Yarster, we have a Doberman and she frequently hurts us by accident when we’re playing with her. She’s just incredibly fast and strong. I’m impressed by imagining what she is truly capable of.

Congratulations on saving your dog!

[Scumpup]

Surgery to get my nose straightened and air passages opened after badly breaking my nose in an accident. The anesthetic made me ill. My face hurt like an emmeffer for days. The crowning glory was when they pulled the gauze out. I had, in error, thought my nostrils were packed with gauze. No. My whole entire nasal sinuses were packed with gauze. As the doctor pulled on it and I felt it unspooling up inside my head, I thought I was going to lose my mind.

[Silvorange]

Lingual frenectomy. Since tongue-tied babies used to have their tongues clipped without local anesthetic pretty routinely, I didn't think it would be a big deal. I had mine done at the dentist's office when I was 16 or 17. I had seven stitches under my tongue. I expected it to be sore when the numbness wore off. It was horrible. I wasn't given any sort of pain medication afterward, either. I just tried to sleep to get away from it.

[MegaBee]

Oral surgery without benefit of anesthesia. Dentist missed a root when doing a root canal (it was behind one of the other roots on the x-ray), and it abcessed. I remember a fiery pain in my gums where the incision happened and really can't think about it to much without becoming nauseated.

Being housebound for three months after foot surgery sucked, too. Lying around on the couch watching movies and playing video games sounds like fun until the cabin fever sets in.

[Smeghead]

Pancreatitis. It started off as a fairly uncomfortable stomach ache. It ended up with me being fed through a tube for six months as the doctors cheerily reminded me that there was a chance I'd be on it for the rest of my life, so I might as well get used to it. First there was a nasal tube, which made me constantly feel like there was something in the back of my throat - because there was - then eventually they cut me open and stuck one into my side. Worst six months of my life ever. You're biologically alive, but you can't call it "living".

[LouisB]

Being in restraints while coming out of anesthesia. I was in restraints for a very good reason; I don't dispute that. I was absolutely helpless and completely unable to act on my own; I was totally at the mercy of people I didn't know and it was the most helpless feeling I've ever experienced. Pissed me off, too.

[corkboard]

Originally Posted by rachelellogram

Being consensually facefucked. I'm glad I can put it on the list of things I've done, but at the same time it's on the list of things I will never voluntarily do again. I used to fantasize about it a lot but not any more.

I had to read your first sentence twice ("Wait- did that say what I think it said?")

Props to you for your willingness to try and taking one for the team, as it were.

[TokyoBayer]

Mountain climbing (hiking, not rocking climbing).

The sunny weather turned into freezing rain, with zero visibility. Everything I was wearing got soaked and there's nothing blocking the wind on the top of the ridge.

Our party included people who weren't in the best of shape so it took forever to get to shelter.

[VunderBob]

1) Another vote for severe depression related to job loss. It was awful, but I never got so bad that I was suicidal. I welcomed sleep because it took me away from my problems, and nothing I did eased what I was going through when I was awake.

2) Leak testing following intestinal surgery. It was a basic 'drink this dye and we take an x-ray' type of procedure, which by itself wasn't too bad. What was bad was I had an abdomen full of nitrogen because of the laparoscopic surgery, I had to lay flat on a hard surface, and I was miserable from the bloat, and the radiologist had just taken an unannounced 45 minute break. I was ready to strangle him when he finally sauntered in.

The upshot was when the abdominal gas finally made it's way out on post-op night #3. I'm not lying or exagerating in the least when I claim I had a nearly constant 20 minute long farting session in the middle of the night. That was guy-cool...

[KneadToKnow]

Wearing my hiking boots for the return trip from Cairo back to Charlotte so I would have more room in my luggage for all the stuff we bought while in Egypt. "How bad could it be?" I remember thinking, "They're really comfortable boots."

The "really" wore off somewhere over Southern Europe. The "comfortable" wore off somewhere over Scotland. And I still had 7 hours or so of air travel ahead of me.

[Wallenstein]

Originally Posted by KneadToKnow

Wearing my hiking boots for the return trip from Cairo back to Charlotte so I would have more room in my luggage for all the stuff we bought while in Egypt. "How bad could it be?" I remember thinking, "They're really comfortable boots."

The "really" wore off somewhere over Southern Europe. The "comfortable" wore off somewhere over Scotland. And I still had 7 hours or so of air travel ahead of me.

Could you not take your boots off on the plane? I hardly ever wear my shoes when flying, just a pair of slippers in case I step in something yukky.

[JohnT]

I waterboard!, by Scylla

[Zsofia]

Originally Posted by Wallenstein

Could you not take your boots off on the plane? I hardly ever wear my shoes when flying, just a pair of slippers in case I step in something yukky.

Yeah, I can't imagine wearing shoes on a plane. I carry really thick socks for planewear when I travel, because I do get very cold.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

Yeah, I can't imagine wearing shoes on a plane. I carry really thick socks for planewear when I travel, because I do get very cold.

Do you walk all the way through the airport in your socks? Or do you stow them in your carry-on at the last minute?

I usually take mine off after I sit, but then I have these gigantic foam rubber boats in the way of my footspace.

[EmAnJ]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

Yeah, I can't imagine wearing shoes on a plane. I carry really thick socks for planewear when I travel, because I do get very cold.

I take mine off too, and carry a thick pair of clean socks in my carry on.

[Mops]

Being unemployed for 5 of the 10 months between university and my first real job (the other 5 months were temporary, menial jobs). I had no real idea how that gets you down.

[NinetyWt]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

Yeah, I can't imagine wearing shoes on a plane. I carry really thick socks for planewear when I travel, because I do get very cold.

I don't fly enough to understand why wearing shoes on a plane is uncomfortable, but don't you want to have shoes on in case of emergency? (serious - no snark )

[Bob Ducca]

When I was 20 or so I had to work late one night and be up early the next morning to continue the project. Why go home and sleep, I thought. Why not stay up all night! By about 8am I was so out of it and loopy that the boss made me go home because I was a danger to myself and others (did I mention we were using somewhat heavy machinery?).

I think that was the first and last time I ever tried that little experiment.

[Mama Zappa]

A sensory evoked potential test, last winter, when a neurologist spotted some mild neuropathy.
http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclero...iple-sclerosis

The hand test was... interesting. Unpleasant but not intolerable, and sort of entertaining when the tech turned on the power and I could see my thumb moving of its own accord.

The foot portion was painful as HELL. "some discomfort" my ass. And she had a LOT of trouble getting to the right spot for the probe. We very nearly had to terminate it because I couldn't tolerate. Oh, and the stress caused my restless legs to kick in (literally) big time. I'd be lying there, praying for death and/or the test to be done (didn't have a strong preference, really), tears running down my face, and then TWITCH went the entire leg.

Childbirth. I knew it'd hurt. I thought there'd be pain relief if it got unbearable. Foolishly, I thought the pain relief would be reasonably prompt (it took 2.5 hours for the bastard anesthesiologist to get around to me), administered correctly (you're NOT supposed to scream in agony when that needle goes into the spinal column), and would work (it did not).

To this day I can't drive past that hospital without feeling sick.

[emmaliminal]

Graduate school. (shudders)

[Procrustus]

Having two teenage daughters. (they're great, I love them,etc., but holy cow, sometimes.....)

[Terra1041]

Going to Germany for school. I liked Germany, but I struggled with the language and culture more than I thought I would.

Although I don't consider it a bad experience at all. Just less than what I expected.

[Chefguy]

Cortisone shot in my foot for plantar fasciitis. How painful could it be? "You'll feel a sting", he says. MotherFUCKER!!!

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by Wallenstein

Could you not take your boots off on the plane? I hardly ever wear my shoes when flying, just a pair of slippers in case I step in something yukky.

I'm a big guy and had a window seat (at least from Germany to DC I did, I honestly don't remember what I had from Cairo to Germany). The combination made the prospect of trying to unlace and remove hiking boots even worse than the prospect of keeping them on.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Mops

Being unemployed for 5 of the 10 months between university and my first real job (the other 5 months were temporary, menial jobs). I had no real idea how that gets you down.

Similarly, the summer I had off. A while back I got laid off from a job. That was in early June. Since I had some money saved up and the unemployment office said that I didn't have to file right away, I decided to take my first summer off since 1983. GF and I got to the beach a couple of times a week, I got to the pool every other day, and I became a summer bum. It was awesome!

Well, kind of.

I spent most of the summer wondering if I was going to be able to get a job in September. It put a damper on the whole thing. A vacation full of worry is not much of a vacation.

As it turns out, the only interview I got was a phone interview, and that got cancelled because some assholes decided to run planes into buildings that day. It was another year until I got a job.

[WOOKINPANUB]

My personal coping mechanism when shit hits the fan is to talk myself through it by asking myself "is this the hardest/ most painful/ most humiliating. . .(whatever) you've ever been through?" to which I can always bring up the memory of something that was worse. Because of that I think I've distorted my perception to the point that I've lost a sense of proportion. That being said, when I was about seventeen I had to have my tonsils out. Nothing prepared me for the soul crushing pain that brought. I thought I'd have a bit of a sore throat and get to eat icecream all day and everything would be chill. My ass. I've had surgeries and wounds and heinous toothaches but at least with all of those you can take pain meds. Not possible when you can't even swallow your own blood infused saliva.

[Notchimine]

Getting a tattoo. Actually getting my second tattoo over my first tattoo. I had a small flower on my ankle that had faded over the years and decided to put something bigger and brighter over it. I don't know if, like they say of child birth, I didn't recall the pain or in 15 years, I became more sensitive to it but OMG. I actually didn't allow him to finish shading some areas, said I would come back, and so far have not and probably will not.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Originally Posted by rachelellogram

Being consensually facefucked. I'm glad I can put it on the list of things I've done, but at the same time it's on the list of things I will never voluntarily do again.

I hope he at least used an existing orifice.